While head coach Dabo Swinney and quarterback Deshaun Watson draw the most headlines for Clemson, Wayne Gallman has quietly developed into one of the country's most dependable running backs. If Watson's dual-threat offense has been the fuel that drives the Tigers towards a national championship, Gallman is the oil that ensures everything runs smoothly. Though Watson was a Heisman Trophy finalist and Swinney was named Coach of the Year, the sophomore running back was relegated to relative award anonymity as a second-team All-ACC honoree.
Wayne Gallman has been consistently great against good teams. Can he crack Alabama’s front 7?
The Tigers national title hopes rest on the shoulders of their consistently excellent running back.
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Gallman’s season stats are impressive. He has run for 1,482 yards in 13 games so far (he did not play against Wake Forest), averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He has as many touchdowns as games played this season. He’s recorded nine different 100-yard rushing games. He’s been held to fewer than 4.4 yards per rush just once, against Boston College and the nation’s top all-around defense.
But those stats don’t tell the whole story. The oft-overlooked narrative behind Gallman’s rise is the way he’s stepped up in the face of stout competition. Since getting only 15 carries in an early-season rout of Appalachian State, he’s brought his lunch pail to Clemson’s biggest showdowns and gained triple-digit yardage in every matchup against bowl-eligible opponents since. With the level of competition rising, Gallman has only gotten better.
| OPP | S&P+ RANK | RESULT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| Appalachian State | 43 | W 41-10 | 15 | 79 | 5.3 | 23 | 1 |
| @Louisville | 28 | W 20-17 | 24 | 139 | 5.8 | 25 | 0 |
| Notre Dame | 8 | W 24-22 | 23 | 111 | 4.8 | 33 | 0 |
| @Miami (FL) | 51 | W 58-0 | 22 | 118 | 5.4 | 17 | 1 |
| @NC State | 35 | W 56-41 | 31 | 172 | 5.5 | 24 | 1 |
| Florida State | 7 | W 23-13 | 22 | 103 | 4.7 | 25 | 1 |
| North Carolina* | 29 | W 45-37 | 28 | 187 | 6.7 | 31 | 1 |
| Oklahoma** | 4 | W 37-17 | 26 | 150 | 5.8 | 21 | 2 |
| * ACC Championship Game | |||||||
| ** CFP Semifinal | |||||||
Only All-American Dalvin Cook out-gained Gallman in Clemson’s games against bowl-eligible teams.
Here’s Gallman compared with Notre Dame’s 1,000-yard rusher C.J. Prosise.
| Notre Dame at Clemson, October 2015 | |||||
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
| Wayne Gallman | 23 | 111 | 4.8 | 0 | 33 |
| C.J. Prosise | 15 | 50 | 3.3 | 0 | 10 |
Here’s his performance heads-up against first-team All-ACC tailback Elijah Hood in the ACC Championship Game.
| 2015 ACC Championship Game | |||||
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
| Wayne Gallman | 28 | 187 | 6.7 | 1 | 31 |
| Elijah Hood | 14 | 65 | 4.6 | 1 | 16 |
And finally, in his most recent and most important performance, against 2014 All-American Samaje Perine in the Orange Bowl.
| 2015 Orange Bowl | |||||
| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
| Wayne Gallman | 26 | 150 | 5.8 | 2 | 21 |
| Samaje Perine | 15 | 58 | 3.9 | 1 | 17 |
Of course, Gallman isn’t the only man responsible for that success.
He’s running behind an offensive line that saw every starter earn All-ACC honors. Clemson’s offensive line made his big night against Perine and the Sooners possible by clearing the space that ensured Gallman was further downfield before contact, on average, than his OU peer (though a leg injury to Perine helped as well).
Gallman will have his hands full against a No. 2 Alabama team that dismantled running backs throughout 2015. The Crimson Tide derailed Leonard Fournette’s Heisman campaign by holding him to 31 yards in November. They held Nick Chubb to 39 first-half yards before letting off the gas in an October rout of Georgia. Most recently, Alabama limited Michigan State to just 29 total rushing yards in the Cotton Bowl win that punched their ticket to the National Championship Game.
Alabama boasts the top rushing defense in the country, and Gallman struggled against the FBS’ No. 2 unit when Boston College reduced him to a season-low 48 yards. However, that happened nearly three months ago. All he’s done since then is shred through bowl-bound defenses like a cheese grater under a cheap sponge. Despite being overshadowed by his teammates -- and even his coach -- Gallman’s star is rising. If he can hold that trajectory and punch through the stratosphere against the Crimson Tide, he could be the key to Clemson’s first national title since 1981.
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